"Where… is this place?"
In complete darkness, the boy's consciousness slowly awakened.
"Who turned off the lights? I can't see anything at all."
"Hey! Stop messing with me, anyone there?"
But no matter how much the boy shouted, there was no response.
Time seemed to pass slowly in the endless void, and eventually, he calmed down. The boundless darkness made him feel incredibly small.
He realized he was in a void. Though there was nothing beneath his feet, he could still stand steadily.
Suddenly, not far from him, a dazzling white light appeared.
"That's… the Silver King's Sword of Damocles."
As the light gradually faded, he finally saw clearly what was surrounded by it.
As an ordinary young man from Earth, he had, of course, seen some anime from Japan, and coincidentally, K was one of them.
And among all the powers in that series, the one he liked and wanted the most was the power of the Silver King: immortality, unchanging, and the ability to fly.
He willed himself toward the Sword of Damocles, and his body floated toward it accordingly.
The moment his hand touched the sword, it burst into bright white light once more, and he instantly lost consciousness.
Who knows how long it had passed, but eventually, noise filled his ears.
As someone who preferred peace, he naturally found this chaotic environment unbearable.
"Hey! Can you guys shut up already? You're driving me crazy! How's anyone supposed to sleep here?!"
Right after those words left his mouth, he opened his eyes.
"Hey, Captain! The kid's awake!"
Before he could even gather his thoughts, a sharp voice rang in his ears. It sounded strangely familiar, like something he had heard before.
Then, he suddenly sat up; this wasn't his home.
"What the hell happened?"
He held his head, trying to recall what had just happened.
"Hey, kid. Who are you?"
At that moment, Roger walked up and asked him directly. But the boy didn't respond; he looked deep in thought.
Seeing his captain get ignored, Buggy couldn't stand it. He walked over and kicked the white-haired boy.
"Hey! Our captain's talking to you!"
"Huh?"
Snapped back to reality by the kick, he couldn't help but wonder—why was this red-nosed guy so strong?
"Our captain asked Who are you?"
"Who am I? I should be asking you that! Why did you kidnap me and bring me here?!"
"Kidnap you? Kid, you dropped out of the sky right onto us. We didn't kidnap anyone."
"You kidding me? Why would I fall from the sky?"
"I think it's a joke, too, but you did fall from the sky. And there was also this huge silver-white sword. But when you landed, the sword disappeared."
"Sword…? Don't tell me that wasn't a dream…"
He suddenly remembered the Sword of Damocles from his dream.
"So… where is this place?"
"This is a deserted island."
"A deserted island? Where?"
"Obviously, in the New World."
"New World? New World… New World!? One Piece?!"
As he put the pieces together, he looked at the red-nosed kid in front of him. Sure enough, he resembled the one in his memory.
"One Piece? Well, you're not wrong. Our captain will be the Pirate King someday!"
"Wait a minute, how did this turn into you asking me questions? We're the ones interrogating you! Now talk, who the hell are you?!"
Realizing the tables had turned, Buggy grew furious.
"My name is Adolf K. Shirakawa."
"Oh? So what are you then? A pirate? A marine? A civilian?"
"I don't know. I've forgotten everything except my name."
At this point, Shirakawa was fairly certain he had been transported to the world of One Piece.
"I see..."
This time, the words came from Roger, who had been silently listening to the exchange between Shirakawa and Buggy.
Roger could tell Shirakawa was lying. But he wasn't sure which part was the lie.
"So… what do you plan to do next?"
"I don't know. But… can I come with you guys?"
This was his best chance to cling to a powerful group while he was still weak.
"You want to join us? Kid, we're pirates. We could die at any moment. And besides, we don't take in dead weight."
Roger observed him. He seemed even weaker than an average man.
"I'm not afraid of death. And I'm not dead weight either. I think I'm stronger than that red-nosed brat."
Of course, Shirakawa was afraid of dying, but there was no way he'd admit that.
"Red nose? Me? Brat?! You little punk! Stand up, I'm gonna show you what the great Buggy is made of!"
Furious, Buggy couldn't stand being called red-nosed.
"Alright, then. If you can beat Buggy, I'll let you join my crew. Sound good?"
"Thank you, Captain!"
"Hold it, don't thank me yet. You haven't beaten Buggy. So you're not a crew member just yet."
"No worries, Captain. It's only a matter of time."
Buggy's temper flared even more. This kid didn't take him seriously.
As for why Shirakawa chose Buggy? In his mind, Buggy was famously weak, just lucky.
When word spread that Buggy was going to fight the mysterious sky-faller, the rest of the Roger Pirates eagerly gathered around to watch.
"So your name's Buggy, right? Go ahead, make the first move. I'm afraid you won't get the chance once I strike."
"Damn you! Still looking down on me?!"
Shirakawa was twenty years old, and Buggy was just a twelve-year-old kid. There was no way Shirakawa thought he'd lose.
Buggy raised his fists and charged at Shirakawa.
"Watch me finish you in one blow, Buggy Punch!"
As he neared Shirakawa, Buggy suddenly leapt into the air and swung his fist straight at Shirakawa's head.
Shirakawa raised both arms to shield his head, managing to block the strike.
"Damn, that hurt..."
The moment he took the hit, it felt like his arms had been smashed with a hammer.
But the pain lasted only a moment before fading completely.
Shirakawa didn't know what had happened, but he knew this fight wasn't over.
"You hit me once. Now it's my turn."
He threw a punch at Buggy, but Buggy dodged it effortlessly.
And so, the two of them began scuffling like kids. Punching, kicking, rolling on the ground.
"So boring..."
Some of the spectators were already yawning.
After more than ten minutes of brawling, neither of them had landed any serious hits, but both were gasping for air.
"Kid, you asked for it!"
At that moment, Buggy pulled out a dagger from who knows where and held it tightly.
He lunged at Shirakawa with it, much faster than before.